Skip to Content

 

2009-2010 Contest Theme

Innovation in History: Impact and Change

Every year National History Day frames students' research within a historical theme. The theme is chosen for the broad application to world, national or state history and its relevance to ancient history or to the more recent past. This year's theme is Innovation in History: Impact and Change. The intentional selection of the theme for National History Day is to provide an opportunity for students to push past the antiquated view of history as mere facts and dates and drill down into historical content to develop perspective and understanding. The NHD theme provides a focused way to increase student's historical understanding by developing a lens to read history, an organizational structure that helps students place information in the correct context and finally, the ability to see connections over time.

Click here to read more about the 2009-2010 NHD Contest Theme.

Click here to see a list of Sample Topics for the 2009-2010 Contest Theme.

 

2009-2010 State Competition

The State Competition is Saturday, April 10, 2010 The snow date is Sunday, April 11, 2010. This web page will announce if the competition must be postponed to the Snow Date. Click on the State Competition for more information.

 

What Is History Day?

National History Day is not just a day, but every day! The National History Day program is a year-long education program that culminates in a national contest every June.

For more than twenty-five years the National History Day program has promoted systemic educational reform related to the teaching and learning of history in America's schools. The combination of creativity and scholarship built into the NHD program anticipated current educational reforms, making National History Day a leading model of performance-based learning.

NHD is a year-long education program that engages students in grades 6-12 in the process of discovery and interpretation of historical topics. Students produce dramatic performances, imaginative exhibits, multimedia documentaries and research papers based on research related to an annual theme. These projects are then evaluated at local, state, and national competitions.

 

Why Participate?

Many different people participate in the NHD program:

  • Students
  • Teachers
  • Colleges and Universities
  • Libraries, Museums, and Archives
  • Community Businesses

The NHD program serves as a vehicle to teach students important literacy skills and to engage them in the use and understanding of museum and library resources. The program inspires students to study local history, and then challenges them to expand their thinking and apply knowledge of local events to the national, or even worldwide scene. The program also teaches students to become technologically literate through the use of computer and Internet research methods, and the use of technologically advanced applications in their presentations.

"The true benefits from participating in National History Day go way past a certificate or medal. The program teaches kids the writing, analytical understanding, and reading comprehension skills that will make them a success in life, no matter what their career," states parent Susan Moose.